** Note: unfortunately Leaping Salmon went out of business. There is hardly anything to be found on the why or how. If you know more, please add to the comments section below. The business concept is still appealing though: check out this new Parisian 'semi-cooking' venture! **
British Leaping Salmon offers almost-ready gourmet food in handy meal kits, making home cooking a breeze for busy urbanites
You may have heard stories about newly-built Manhattan apartments without proper kitchens: urbanites eat out or order in frequently these days that the art of serious cooking has become entertainment: something you watch on TV but would never do yourself. Springwise has highlighted a number of new fast food/take-out business ideas over the last months, but a new niche for 'almost' ready-to-eat delivery meals of high quality should inspire food loving entrepreneurs.
British Leaping Salmon (the restaurant has recently become unactive) is showing the way, and its concept is ready for international adaptation after having gone through some trials and tribulations. The new business idea behind Leaping Salmon is to deliver its customers (including those who can't even fry an egg) the ingredients for a gourmet, 3-course meal that can be home-cooked in half an hour or less.
Leaping Salmon meal kits come with ingredients selected and washed, measured out exactly for a particular recipe, and delivered to home or office. Detailed instructions for the chosen recipe are included. The food is packaged in cool bags for same day delivery in London (within half an hour in some central London neighbourhoods), or polystyrene boxes for overnight delivery in the rest of the UK.
But delivery is not the only way busy Londoners can get their nourishment: Leaping Salmon has recently set up clever kiosks at major London railway/underground stations, and in department stores (from Paddington to Canary Wharf to Selfridges), to cater to those who prefer to by-pass delivery, and to gain brand exposure amidst more visible competition from supermarkets and fast food chains.
Opportunities
Delivering or offering almost-ready gourmet meals at major commuter hubs in large cities smacks of a winner. Leaping Salmon is about to reap the rewards for fine-tuning a great idea and turning it into a viable business. And as they don't have any serious competition yet, this arena is wide-open to other entrepreneurs, who can avoid potential pitfalls by spending some time studying Leaping Salmon's business and logistics. In the case of almost-ready meals, going with the flow may translate into tasty profits.
LEAPING SALMON. HAVE THEY LEAPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH?
Does anyone actually know what happened to Leaping Salmon? It's a fantastic business idea and seems to have gained a lot of media attention for it's great name and excellent concept.
Leaping Salmon seems to have leaped off the face of the earth?!
Where are they now? and Why did they just dissapear?
Anyone with info please let me know as i am very interested in knowing what caused the business to stop trading.
Bec, that's something WE would like to know as well.
Have done research into this, but NOTHING came up.
We feel the concept is more interesting than ever, so opportunities are there for the picking. In fact, check out our Kit A Bien Manger posting
(http://www.springwise.com/food_beverage/dining_insperiences_parisian_s/)
So, if anyone does know what happened to Leaping Salmon, and why this promising business disappeared from the face of the earth, please let us know, just place a comment. Thanks!
Reinier
I have done a little research!
Leaping Salmon closed down in July 2003 when it was sold to, or taken over by Threshers.
Threshers aquired Leaping Salmon in an attempt to develop the meal kits within their shops, but they had no intentions of continuing on the web site, or the home delivery's.
There is still no information as to why they sold the business. But at least we now know they didn't just 'disappear', so to speak.
For more info: www.webuser.co.uk/news/55825.html
or: brandrepublic.com/.../pw-revamps-leaping-salmon-brand-thresher-group
Thanks, very helpful!
Rightingredients.com are doing home delivery gourmet food kits...
Are you people for real? Leaping Salmon was an obvious dud and I knew it was doomed to fail the second I laid eyes on it. Who the hell would pay the equivalent price of a restaurant/take-away meal and then take it home and have to actually cook it aswell? Are you kidding me? To top it all off, Unilever ventures tried exactly the same concept called "Rocket" which was also a huge flop. I have a suggestion for you - don't just say everything is great, think about it first. It is SO OBVIOUS that you are not risking your own cash. If all you do is give positive comment you are doing a monkey's work so perhaps look for another job? Seriously.
Yoda - if you check the facts, Leaping Salmon sold itself to Thresher for about $10 million! I would hardly call that a flop!
Threshers changed the model from a delivery/kiosk at the station to a full blown retail model. It seems that there is a space for this kind of a business model in a very niche market but not through traditional retail stores like Threshers.
cheers
Buddy
I used Leapingsalmon most weeks and thought it superb, I have M.S. and just to go shopping is exhausting. The other plus factor with this it was quality food and sometimes unusual ingredients such as banana leaves (that were used to wrap a fish in), that I certainly cannot get in the rural area I live) and you had just the right amount of everything. How many times have I thrown out part used spices etc. as they go past their best. If any one knows of a similar set up please let me know. My husband now has cancer and it would be wonderful to have an easy to cook fresh gourmet meal in the comfort of our home.
We used Leaping Salmon on many occasions and found it excellent. As said above it enabled us to try ingredients that we would never find in rural Lincolnshire e.g truffle oil plus who wants to pay a lot of money for something that's likely to be thrown away in a few months time. In our house it's sadly missed
I have found a company that do what Leaping Salmon did for those of you that are interested.
www.themealkitco.co.uk
The area they cover is limited but the food is great at a good price.